


Pulled a Pearl Out of the Mess

by Quettaser



Category: EXID (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, F/F, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 12:09:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8890267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quettaser/pseuds/Quettaser
Summary: Hyojin's arm lay along the edge of the tub, gently tapping out the rhythm of whatever song was playing and her eyes were closed, face relaxed and serene. Her legs hung out of the other end of the tub, draped with a wet towel.That’s a weird towel, Heeyeon thought. A weirdly-shaped, scale-y towel. It was beautiful though, glistening in the candlelight, reflecting rich greens and blues. Towels were not normally reflective though and Heeyeon's sleepy brain strained to put these thoughts together.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [renquise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/renquise/gifts).



> I enjoyed writing this so much, even though it ended up being way, way longer than anything else I've ever written.
> 
> Shoutout to CRJ for the lyrics to "Higher," which I changed to make the title.

Heeyeon wasn't planning on spending all afternoon watching dramas and working on her knitting - a slouchy hat to match her new favorite jacket - but here she was, five episodes in and a desperate need to use the bathroom. Only she was pretty sure she saw Hyojin go in midway through the last episode, which meant Heeyeon was well and truly screwed.

“Ahn Hyojin unnie,” Heeyeon yelled, pounding on the locked bathroom door, “if you don't get your tiny ass out of the bathroom right now, I'm going to pee in your laundry!”

“You know she takes forever, unnie, you should have jumped in before she started her bath,” Junghwa said as she walked by, not looking up from her phone.

“Well, I didn't have to go when she started her bath," Heeyeon whined, pouting and banging her fist against the bathroom door a few more times. Junghwa just shrugged and kept moving towards the kitchen. Heeyeon slumped against the door.

It wasn't like Heeyeon didn't know that Hyojin loved taking baths. In fact, Heeyeon had regularly picked out bath bombs for Hyojin whenever she went out fragrance shopping - she loved anything that smelled like flowers. Even the fans had picked up on it and were constantly giving Hyojin bath accessories as gifts. It had been that way even when they were trainees, Hyojin locking herself away for nearly an hour every other day like clockwork. Every once in awhile, their promotions were too hectic for Hyojin to have her regular bathtime and everyone else in the group knew to give her as much space as possible, the fuse on her temper shortening to nothing.

Heeyeon only registered the sound of the doorknob turning as she started to fall into the now-very-much-open bathroom. She caught herself on Hyojin's arm, now handily at grabbing height. She might have squeaked a little, but it was drowned out under Hyojin's startled, "Yah!" They were frozen there for a moment, Hyojin with her fuzzy robe and dripping hair and Heeyeon leaning at a very precarious angle, distracted by the smell of Hyojin’s favorite cherry blossom shampoo.

“I'm done,” Hyojin said, like she was doing Heeyeon a favor and wasn't a total bathroom hog who was the bane of Heeyeon’s existence.

“I can see that,” Heeyeon said, righting herself. “What do you even _do_ in there?” she asked in exasperation, pushing past Hyojin into the bathroom.

“What do you do when you knit?” Hyojin replied, stepping into the hallway and turning back to look at Heeyeon.

Heeyeon was sure her eyes were about to fall out of her head. “I'm knitting!”

“Well, I'm taking a bath!” Hyojin said, looking like she was just as frustrated as Heeyeon.

Heeyeon, the picture of a mature, adult woman, stuck out her tongue and shut the door in Hyojin's face before she could stick her tongue out back at Heeyeon.

It wasn't any different from the other hundreds of times Heeyeon has had to plead and negotiate for her bathroom time - five or more women living in a dorm was an intricate dance of bathroom and mirror sharing - but Heeyeon still found herself wanting to get back at Hyojin during the fan signing the next day.

Heeyeon had the good fortune of ending up sitting next to Hyojin for the fan sign, even if it was good fortune that she had manufactured by moving Solji’s jacket and nametag down one chair. Throughout the signing, Heeyeon found every excuse she could to get in Hyojin’s space. She swapped headbands, took selcas with Hyojin in the background, facetiously interviewed her to make the fans laugh and even challenged her to an armwrestling contest that Heeyeon almost won.

As the signing progressed, Hyojin’s reactions to Heeyeon’s antics got more and more obvious. Her face was permanently stuck in disbelief, like when Junghwa had told her Mocha had knocked over her favorite perfume or when Hyerin had eaten the last piece of beef when they went out to dinner last week. It was a face of both surprise and genuine irritation and Heeyeon took a certain amount of pride in being able to cause that face on purpose.

Having said goodbye to their Leggos and headed backstage, Hyerin grabbed Heeyeon by the elbow and asked, “What is with the two of you today?”

“Nothing,” Heeyeon replied, but Hyerin still looked suspicious. Heeyeon shrugged and added, “Just trying to keep things fun.” Big fan signings were still relatively new to them as a group and Heeyeon couldn’t help it if the adrenaline made her mischievous. Hyojin just happened to be the victim today, it didn’t mean anything. She watched Hyojin carefully pack up her belongings, looking for signs that she was still irritated, until Hyerin squeezed her elbow again.

“Even if it’s nothing, that doesn’t mean Elly won’t kill you.”

Heeyeon huffed and raised her hands in fists, mimicking a fighting pose. “I’d like to see her try,” she said, channeling her most badass face, until Hyojin walked by behind her and skittered her fingers across Heeyeon’s waist. She squeaked in surprise and doubled over, protecting her very ticklish midsection. “Not cool!” she yelled after Hyojin. She only got a middle finger in response.

Hyerin scrunched up her nose at the scene. “I’m not sitting between you two at dinner, unnie.” Heeyeon probably should have felt betrayed, but frankly, she probably deserved a little torture from Hyojin tonight. But as long as the group was being treated to dinner by the company, so what if she got needled by Hyojin for a while. There was free beef to be eaten.

Only dinner didn’t go according to Heeyeon’s expectations. She had expected to be poked with the wrong end of Hyojin’s chopsticks, to make complicated wraps at her request or to at least get teased every time Heeyeon opened her mouth. But instead, Hyojin kept refilling her glass of soju and there was always a new bottle of beer before her current one ran out.

"Unnie," Heeyeon started, definitely feeling herself careen headfirst into being trashed, "are you trying to get me drunk?" She felt stable enough while sitting down, but if she moved her head too fast, it took a second for her brain to catch up. "Because it is _working_ ," she said, reaching out to steady herself on Hyojin’s arm.

Hyojin was in the middle of chewing, hand in front of her face to cover her mouth as she turned to look at Heeyeon. Heeyeon found herself watching her neck as she swallowed, which was pretty normal for drunk Heeyeon. Drunk Heeyeon got distracted very easily. Hyojin leaned in towards Heeyeon, her voice low and Heeyeon had to strain a little to hear her, “I’m trying to be nice to you.”

“Why?” Heeyeon blurted out in disbelief.

Hyojin smiled and Heeyeon thought she looked almost evil. Like a cartoon cat about to pounce on a bird. “Because,” Hyojin said, her mouth curling even more and Heeyeon could imagine the whiskers and ears, “I’m going to be taking a very long bath later and now you can’t get mad at me.”

Heeyeon sputtered, "You're not even paying, unnie," trying to fight back a smile. But she knew Hyojin was right because she was already feeling the gratitude wash over her, warm feelings about Hyojin creeping in at the edges of her mind and wrapping her up like a warm blanket. Heeyeon was always a sucker for a sweet gesture, there might as well have been cartoon hearts flying out of her eyes every time someone did something nice for her. Damn her soft and squishy heart.

"I know," Hyojin said, dipping her meat in a sauce that was Heeyeon's favorite but Hyojin hated, "but you love it when people are nice to you." Hyojin's eyes were big in attempt at sweetness but the cartoon cat smile was back. "Want my last piece of beef?"

Heeyeon whined in distress. She wanted to be mad at Hyojin for taking advantage of her, but Hyojin's chopsticks were in front of her face holding her last piece of beef and Hyojin was not one to let beef go lightly. "I hate you, unnie," Heeyeon said, feeling the exact opposite, and she pouted and let Hyojin feed her the last piece of beef. She chewed and swallowed and tried to ignore the way Hyojin was still smiling at her. Heeyeon took a drink of her beer and said, "If I end up having to pee in the kitchen sink tonight, I'm going to be really mad."

"If you end up having to pee in the kitchen sink, I'll actually buy you something," said Hyojin, patting Heeyeon's hand and they were silent for all of two seconds before bursting out into laughter, Junghwa looking at them across the table like they were old, crazy, and gross which was not a new thing. It only made them laugh harder.

Even knowing Hyojin's ulterior motives, Heeyeon did not slow her drinking and ended up back at the dorm still drunk. She was starfished face down on her bed, her phone playing her 90s playlist and singing along with her face in the pillow. Upon arriving at home, Heeyeon had wanted to have a dance party in the living room, but Hyerin and Solji had insisted that she was just going to pass out on the couch in a few minutes anyway, so they had shuffled her into her bedroom. At least Hyerin had danced with her for two Fin.K.L. songs before leaving.

Heeyeon didn't remember when she fell asleep, but she woke up some time later, her playlist exhausted and the dorm dark and quiet, with a desperate need to go to the bathroom. Cursing Hyojin under her breath, Heeyeon made her way to the bathroom, still drowsy. Had she been more awake, she might have noticed the dim light under the edge of the door, but it didn't seem weird to her until she opened the door and was met with the surprising sight of Hyojin still in the bath.

Candles were perched on the corners of the tub and the smell of jasmine and salt filled the room. Hyojin was fully stretched out in the tub, her bare shoulders peeking out of the water and her head tilted back against the bathroom wall, earbuds trailing to her phone on the floor. Hyojin's arm lay along the edge of the tub, gently tapping out the rhythm of whatever song was playing and her eyes were closed, face relaxed and serene. Her legs hung out of the other end of the tub, draped with a wet towel.

That’s a weird towel, Heeyeon thought. A weirdly-shaped, scale-y towel. It was beautiful though, glistening in the candlelight, reflecting rich greens and blues. Towels were not normally reflective though and Heeyeon's sleepy brain strained to put these thoughts together. 

In the time it took Heeyeon to form the words, "Is that a _tail_?" Hyojin seemed to finally take notice of Heeyeon's presence in the bathroom.

"Get out!" Hyojin yelled, panic in her eyes as she threw a dripping loofah towards Heeyeon, dislodging her earbuds. The smack of the wet loofah on the floor snapped Heeyeon of out her thoughts and she squeaked out an apology, pulling the bathroom door shut behind her. She took a few shuddering breaths as she leaned against the door for support, her heart pounding from the surprise and confusion of the last thirty seconds of her life.

Heeyeon slowly made her way back to her bedroom and burrowed under her covers, trying to convince herself that this was all just a soju-fueled nightmare. In the quiet, waiting for sleep to come again, Heeyeon could hear the barely-there sounds of Hyojin leaving the bathroom and going back to her room. Heeyeon thought about texting her an apology but that would make what happened real and it definitely wasn't.

Heeyeon woke up slowly the next day, no schedules to force her out of bed early, but her head pounded with the hangover from the night before. She rolled around in bed in frustration, not wanting to give up the luxury of a quiet morning spent in bed reading manhwa or screwing around on her phone just so that she could get some water to soothe her head.

She tried using her phone, pulling up kkt, but she couldn't even look at it long enough for the app to fully load before she had to toss her phone back down on the bed. Heeyeon rolled over and groaned into her pillow before kicking off her blankets and getting up to head to the kitchen, her hangover harsher than any manager with an alarm.

In the kitchen, Heeyeon grabbed a water bottle and a banana and slumped down in a chair, sulking and watching the rest of the group wander around the house. Solji was on the phone while she made her own breakfast, probably her brother based on her sarcastic and scolding tone. Hyerin was in the living room with a book and a mug of tea and Heeyeon was sure that Junghwa was stretching and doing her calisthenics in her own room.

Heeyeon was finishing her banana when Hyojin wandered out into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee pot, mug clutched thought in her hands. It was only then that the memory of last night came back to Heeyeon, the hazy image of Hyojin in the tub and her legs looking very much not like legs, feeling somewhere between reality and a dream. If it was real, then Heeyeon could wait until Hyojin gives her shit, which she does for everything else. If it wasn't real, then why make herself look crazy for bringing up a weird dream she had? Hyojin drank her coffee while she scrolled through her phone and didn't seem to care that Heeyeon was watching her more closely than usual. So maybe it was all in Heeyeon's head.

Only the probably-a-dream didn't go away, swimming around in Heeyeon's head and surfacing in quiet moments. She found herself searching things on Naver like “dream meaning tail” and “what does it mean when you dream about fish?” and “mermaid costumes.” Maybe this was all just some elaborate prank, Hyojin's true payback for Heeyeon's teasing. She watched all ten episodes of Idle Mermaid, downloaded the Disney soundtrack and read several long articles about the Haenyo women of Jeju.

Heeyeon even found herself jotting down little silly notes about Hyojin's habits. Average length of bath: thirty five minutes. Number of pearls worn: zero so far. Amount of fish eaten: same as everyone else in the house. Ordered sashimi: twice in two weeks. And at a certain point it stopped being a joke. Heeyeon began to lurk a few cryptozoology message boards but the translations didn't make much sense. She watched Hyojin's legs during dance practice and encouraged her to put her feet in Heeyeon's lap for massages. At this point, Heeyeon could map every mark and scar on Hyojin's legs from memory. It made her feel like a creepy uncle fan sometimes but it was also nice to just spend some quiet time with Hyojin. They hadn’t really talked since that night and Heeyeon was beginning to feel the pressure of the secret keeping them apart. When she started weighing the box of salt in the dorm to see if it was disappearing faster than normal, Heeyeon knew this had to stop. She actually had to talk to Hyojin.

Heeyeon waited until the other girls had gone to their rooms for the night, the light still shining under Hyojin's door. Heeyeon knocked lightly, pushing the door open when Hyojin replied, "Yah!"

Hyojin was sitting at her desk, audio software open on her computer. She was always noodling with some song, even when she was away from the studio. Heeyeon shut the door behind her and sat down on Hyojin's bed, tucking her feet underneath her. She toyed with the roller in her bangs. "Unnie," Heeyeon started, and Hyojin paused whatever she was working on, turning in her chair to face Heeyeon, leaning her arm on the desk, "that night-"

"What night?" Hyojin interrupted.

Heeyeon dropped her hand from her roller and gave Hyojin a look that she hoped conveyed her impatience for bullshit right now. She sometimes used it on Solji when she would nag about something she already knew Heeyeon had done. The look must have been successful because Hyojin got up to close her door.

"What do you think you saw?" she asked.

"I saw you in the tub with something on your legs that looked like a fish tail," Heeyeon answered, the words sounding even stranger out loud.

Hyojin nodded as she pulled her face into a frown and came to sit at the other end of the bed. She took Heeyeon's hand in both of her own and Heeyeon hadn't seen Hyojin look this serious since the night before their first music show broadcast.

"Ahn Heeyeon, you cannot tell _anyone_ about what you saw. Very bad things could happen, to both of us. Not even Solji unnie knows about this." Hyojin squeezed her hand, tense with worry.

"I won't, just tell me what is going on,” Heeyeon insisted. “I've been so messed up these last two weeks, wondering if it was all in my head."

“Was it really that bad?” asked Hyojin. She looked almost guilty, something Heeyeon was not accustomed to seeing from Hyojin. Hyojin liked to project an image that she lived a life as free from guilt as possible. If guilt was a person, Hyojin would constantly be giving it the finger. Though Heeyeon knew that Hyojin felt it deeply when she thought she had disappointed someone.

Heeyeon reached out with her free hand to smack Hyojin on the knee. "Unnie, I've been counting how many pieces of eel you've eaten. That's not something I normally do."

Hyojin huffed out a laugh but the mirth on her face was quickly replaced with concern again. “What you saw,” Hyojin hesitated, toying with Heeyeon’s fingers and she gave Hyojin a reassuring squeeze, “it’s what you think it is. I’m not exactly a normal human.”

Heeyeon’s breathing stuttered, mouth falling open. As a reflex, her hand withdrew from Hyojin’s and the guilt on Hyojin’s face hurt Heeyeon more than the impact of her words. It was like the sting of a curling iron burn, sharp and lingering. “Sorry,” Heeyeon said, lowering her hand to her lap. “I don’t mean to,” she began, but there wasn’t an end to that sentence, she just trailed off into silence, gesturing between them.

Hyojin shook her head. “It’s not like I expected you to take it well. I’m not offended if you’re weirded out or-”

"You can’t just-” Heeyeon interrupted. She sighed and took one of Hyojin’s hands again. “You're supposed to tell me that I'm crazy and that was just a weird beauty treatment or a- a costume that you wear sometimes and I would say that I wouldn't judge you, even though I totally would in my head. But that's fine, because liking fish in _that_ kind of way is not the worst thing you could be into and you'd still be one of my best friends." Heeyeon shook her head and took a deep breath. "You're _not_ supposed to tell me that what I saw was exactly what I thought it was and that you're really a," Heeyeon dropped her voice to a whisper, hissing out the next word like an ajumma was behind her, ready to scold her for cursing, "mermaid."

Hyojin cringed and began to pull her hand away, but Heeyeon held on tighter. “But, hey,” Heeyeon started again, waiting for Hyojin to look at her, “that just means that I need more time. Because that’s a way bigger secret than, ‘I might be into fish, sexually.’” She paused. “Wait, does being a mermaid mean that you _are_ into-”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Hyojin said, smacking at Heeyeon’s hands and they both giggled, the tension beginning to dissolve from the room. Hyojin bent over, pushing at Heeyeon’s legs until she rearranged them so that she could lay her head in Heeyeon’s lap, the rest of her stretched across the bed, on her side to face the rest of the room. Heeyeon began to play with her hair out of habit. They used to do this a lot when they were trainees, on those late nights when neither of them could sleep and Hyojin in particular was worried about their debut. It helped her relax. Heeyeon had always liked helping Hyojin relax.

Heeyeon’s voice was much softer, teasing, when she said, “You haven’t actually answered me.”

“I’m not into fish,” Hyojin replied, pinching the outside of Heeyeon’s thigh. Heeyeon squeaked but didn’t retaliate. She knew she was being a brat. 

“This explains so much about your baths. Are they a magical curse thing? Are you going to get stuck as a human if you don’t get in the water every two weeks? Are you going to turn into bubbles in a hundred days?”

“I’m not Jo Boah. You need to stop watching so many dramas.” Hyojin pushed her head into Heeyeon's hands. It reminded Heeyeon of a cat again. “I just need to be in the water to stop hiding my tail. It’s like having a sore muscle, I need to stretch it out or it gets cramped, I guess. It’s easier if you’re more human or have spent more time on land. There are some of us who never leave the ocean.”

Heeyeon hummed. “I guess that would explain all the times we went swimming and you didn’t have a tail.” She separated out a small section of Hyojin’s hair and began to braid it. “When you say ‘we,’ is there a whole mermaid society? Are there princesses?” Heeyeon gasped, wrapping her arms around Hyojin’s shoulders, awkwardly bent in half. “Elly-unnie, _please_ tell me you’re a mermaid princess.”

“Ah, idiot.” Hyojin protested, trying to shake Heeyeon free, but Heeyeon held on until Hyojin stopped resisted and went limp in Heeyeon’s arms again. “I don’t really know how the Yongwangguk runs. My mom lived there for a year or two, but she missed the land too much. Choosing was hard on her.”

Heeyeon wanted to ask about the Yongwangguk and Hyojin’s mom but something else bothered her more. “Do you miss the ocean?” she asked, resting her chin on Hyojin’s shoulder.

“I can’t help it. It’s literally in my blood,” Hyojin said, turning to lean back into Heeyeon's chest.

“That sucks,” Heeyeon sighed.

Hyojin shrugged, lifting Heeyeon's chin with it. “It’s not too bad, most days.”

“That’s why you’re always so happy to go to Japan, we always stay near the water.”

Hyojin nodded. “Taking a salty bath is not really a substitute for the ocean.”

Heeyeon hummed in agreement and resettled her arms around Hyojin. While this had been something they'd done a lot as trainees, now that the group was popular, they had a lot more personal space and chose to use it. This was something Heeyeon hadn't realized she missed.

“You know,” Hyojin said quietly, “you’re the first person I’ve told by myself. The last time I told someone, it was CEO-nim and my parents were there to help.”

Heeyeon gasped, arms unconsciously tightening around Hyojin, “Is CEO-nim a mermaid too? Merman, I guess. Oh my god, unnie, are there other idols that are mermaids?”

“Could you shut up? I’m trying to thank you for listening.”

“Oh, I bet Nam Joo Hyuk is one. He’s just got that windswept, creature-of-the-ocean vibe.”

Hyojin wormed her way free and grabbed the nearest pillow, hurling it at Heeyeon. “You’re the most ungrateful dongsang that ever lived.”

Heeyeon stuck her tongue out at Hyojin. “Please, I’m your favorite. You love me.”

“Actually, Junghwa’s my favorite.”

“Ugh, I’m going to bed,” Heeyeon said standing up like she was leaving.

“Heeyeon,” Hyojin said, her voice low like when she first wakes up in the morning, or tries out new lyrics to see if they flow, “thank you. Really.”

Heeyeon nodded. They’ve known each other long enough, been through enough bullshit and essentially poverty that Heeyeon knew Hyojin would understand her nod without having to speak. That no matter what happened, her secret was safe and that Hyojin had put her trust in the right place. They’d spent years relying on each other for nearly everything, what was one more shared burden?

After that night, Heeyeon started to notice how much time she spent with Hyojin. It didn’t feel like more or less time than before, only that now Heeyeon was paying attention when Hyojin was in the room. Like she had a Hyojin-detector installed in her brain that was sending her constant updates.

It was different from the paranoia that had gripped her for the two weeks where she didn’t know if she had dreamed Hyojin’s tail. This was more like a constant, low hum of Hyojin-centric curiosity. How was she feeling? Was she eating? Were they going to have enough time this week for her to take a bath?

But other than Heeyeon’s new Hyojin-awareness, nothing really changed. They had a run of fan meetings and festival concerts before they could really begin to work on their next comeback, so the group was spending a lot of time on planes and in vans, ushered from airport to hotel to event and then back again. Hyojin was attached to her laptop, building up a collection of possible songs for their next release, but every once in awhile she would take off her headphones and surface to join reality with the rest of the girls.

They were in a van, heading home after a fan meeting, this one close enough to Seoul that they didn’t have to fly or spend the night in a hotel. Solji was in the middle of falling asleep, her head listing to the side and then jerking back up again. Hyerin and Junghwa were arguing about what song to put on next. Bored with the argument, Heeyeon declared, “Yah, be quiet, Elly-unnie will pick the next song.”

Both Hyerin and Junghwa turned in their seats to look at Heeyeon like she was about to fight a dragon. They weren’t completely wrong, but Hyojin had closed her music program a while ago so Heeyeon knew it was safe to interrupt her.

Heeyeon tapped her on the shoulder and Hyojin took off her headphones. “Play some music, unnie. These two kids can’t agree on anything.”

“Oh, play that new Rihanna song,” said Hyerin. “I liked that one.”

“Yes, yes!” urged Junghwa. Hyojin remained their main contact for new Western music, always downloading new songs to play on their van rides.

Their singalong was loud and for a moment Heeyeon worried about waking up Solji, but halfway through the second verse, Solji was singing along louder than anyone else, much to the chagrin of their driving manager.

It made Heeyeon think of all the times they had had singalongs on a drive, never knowing the secret Hyojin was hiding. Guilt wormed through her chest at the thought of ignoring Hyojin when she had a problem.

She grabbed Hyojin’s hand, swaying it to the music, singing more emphatically and over exaggerating her gestures. Hyojin laughed, covering her mouth with her free hand. “Those aren’t even the words.” Heeyeon shrugged and Hyojin tipped her head back, closed her eyes and began singing along just as loud as Solji.

They end up cycling through all their favorite songs, anything where they could remember the point dance or dramatically reenact the music video. They get back to the dorm full of giggles and Heeyeon fought the urge to backhug Hyojin for looking so happy, rather than exhausted and absorbed in her work.

She fought the urge and lost, jumping at her back as soon as her bags were put down in the entryway, stopping to slip off her shoes. Then Heeyeon felt Junghwa grab her waist, her chin poking into Heeyeon’s shoulder. “Hug line!” Hyerin announced, clearly clinging to Junghwa, based on the way Heeyeon and Hyojin were jostled.

“Let me in, let me in!” Solji demanded from the back, still in the hallway, forcing the group to shuffle further into the apartment. But the dogs were underfoot, and Hyojin let out a yelp before Heeyeon felt her start to fall. The dogs scurried away as all five of them toppled over in the entryway. Their manager seemed unphased and told them to go to get some sleep before their flight to Fukuoka the next day. After a few more minutes of exhausted giggling and rolling around on the floor, everyone shuffled off to bed.

Packing for a trip to Japan was never that difficult for Heeyeon, the weather was similar to Korea and they were only ever gone for a few days at a time so there was more room on her luggage for manhwa and her knitting. She had a new favorite manhwa series and volumes three, five, and six were already in her bag but volume four was nowhere to be found. She had already stripped everything off of her bed with no luck, so she was digging in between the mattress and the wall to see if it had fallen when Hyojin snuck into the room, saying "Hey," once she was already too close, startling Heeyeon.

Heeyeon squeaked in surprise and tried to pull her arm free from between the wall and the bed but the sudden movement had her hand stuck. "Unnie, don't scare me like that," Heeyeon whined, flopping on the bed but restrained by her arm.

Hyojin laughed, which was normally a sound that Heeyeon enjoyed a lot and just yesterday spent a significant amount of energy trying to elicit, but at the moment the laughter only grated. "Let me help," Hyojin said, laughter still echoing in her voice. That was a little nicer, Heeyeon admitted to herself. With the way she was stuck, she couldn't really see Hyojin to see what helping looked like, but a moment later, the bed was shifting away from the wall by a few centimeters and Heeyeon was able to pull her arm free.

“What do you want?” Heeyeon asked, sitting up on the bed and rubbing her wrist.

“Unnie,” Hyojin started, deadpan, emphasizing Heeyeon’s lack of honorific, “wanted to know if you had seen her phone charger. I can’t find it.”

“You were charging it in the kitchen this morning.” Before Hyojin could leave her room, Heeyeon moved to her bag and grabbed a copy of the manhwa she was looking for, “Have you seen volume four of this?”

Hyojin thought for a moment. “You left it in Hyerin’s room.”

“Thank you!” Heeyeon called as Hyojin left to get her phone charger.

On the plane, Heeyeon sat between Junghwa and Hyojin, Hyerin, Solji and a manager in the row in front of them. The flight was a relatively short one, so Heeyeon worked on her knitting while watching a few episodes of a drama she liked on the screen in front of her. Even with the short flight, Junhwa dozed off, leaning into Heeyeon’s side. Hyojin worked diligently on her laptop but at one point, she took off her headphones and tapped Heeyeon on the wrist, motioning for her to take out her earbuds.

“Did you know we’re staying right by the water this time?” Hyojin asked her, keeping her voice quiet.

Heeyeon still stole a look at Junghwa to make sure she was still asleep. “Were you thinking of going out tomorrow?”

Hyojin nodded, biting her lip in thought. “It’s been months.”

“How do you normally manage it?”

“If I’m lucky, our curfew is early and I’m rooming by myself. Once Jaehyun is off kkt, I can manage about an hour of freedom.”

“So you aren’t back until after one in the morning?” Heeyeon asked, trying to keep the harsh tone out of her voice to avoid waking up Junghwa, but it just sounded like a hiss instead.

“It’s fine. I don’t go far, I stay hidden,” Hyojin explained. “You worry too much.”

“It sounds like I need to.” The thought of Hyojin alone in a strange place late at night sent a shiver up Heeyeon’s back. “What if I helped keep an eye on managers? I could just text you an all clear,” she suggested. “I can make them go over comeback plans or something. That takes forever. Then you could go out and be back much earlier.”

“That could work,” Hyojin said. She was quiet for a moment. “You’d really do that?”

“Of course,” Heeyeon said.

“I’ll buy you extra eel for dinner.”

Heeyeon didn’t say that she would have done it with or without the eel, but she wasn’t someone who turned down free eel. “Deal.”

When they got to the hotel after the plane flight, dinner was waiting for them in each of their rooms and Heeyeon’s extra eel sat next to the rest of Heeyeon’s dinner. She couldn’t resist taking a picture of herself eating a big bite of it and sending it to Hyojin. Hyojin sent back a selca of her disgusted face, grimacing with her tongue sticking out along with the message, _no one wants to see you eat._ Heeyeon made a quick video of her eating a few pieces of sushi, exaggerating her chewing so it was as obnoxious as possible.

 _you're the worst_ , was Hyojin's last reply.

The next day, after the fan meeting and a group dinner, everyone was heading back to their rooms to get ready for bed. Heeyeon kept an eye on the hallway, waiting for Jaehyun to go to his room. When he finally went into his room, Heeyeon sent Hyojin a quick message, _Operation Distract Oppas begins now_. As Heeyeon knocked on Jaehyun’s door, her phone flashed with a notification that Hyojin had sent her a thumbs up in return.

There was a tightness in Heeyeon’s chest, a knot of worry that weighed her down, knowing that Hyojin was out there alone. That she was vulnerable. Heeyeon wasn’t used to thinking of Hyojin as vulnerable and it made Heeyeon want to hug her close, protect her from everything, the tides, prying eyes, whatever might threaten her in her happiest moment, finally able to truly be herself in the ocean. 

The door opened, Jaehyun standing in the gap. “Ah, what is it, Heeyeon?”

“I wanted to talk to oppa about next month’s schedule,” said Heeyeon, sliding her way past Jaehyun into the room. She sat on the edge of the bed and put on her most attentive face. “I need to know how much recording time we’ll have and if we’ll be filming any CFs.” This boredom was worth Hyojin’s brief happiness.

“Well, everything’s on the shared calendar.”

“I know, but I understand it so much better when you explain it, oppa,” Heeyeon said, letting her voice edge into whining just a little. Just enough to needle Jaehyun into amusing her. All in all, it took over an hour, laptops, phones and Jaehyun’s precious folio spread out across the bed, cross-referencing studio time with dance practice and CF recordings along with any events and travel that had already been booked over the next three months. At some point, Heeyeon had actually become interested in the scheduling process, helping pick a time window for their next comeback if everything in the recording process went according to plan. Their CEO would still need to approve all of their choices, but if they aimed for a summer comeback, they could make a title track that would do well in that season.

It had been enough to distract her from her vague anxiety about Hyojin being alone. Even the sound of the ocean had receded her from thoughts until her phone chimed with a message from Hyojin, saying that she was back in her room, safe and sound. The knot in Heeyeon’s chest unraveled, leaving her tired and ready for bed.

Heeyeon fought against a yawn as she said, “Thanks for going over everything with me, Jaehyun oppa.”

“Of course, anytime. Normally, I can’t get you kids to listen to me for five minutes.” Heeyeon laughed and shrugged as she walked out the door. “Now I’m going to expect you to remember everything I tell you.”

“Ugh,” Heeyeon groaned, dragging out the sound and pouting.

Jaehyun laughed. “Breakfast at 8:30, we leave for the airport at 9:15, so get some sleep.”

Heeyeon nodded and opened the door to her room, replying, “Yah, yah, oppa,” before letting the door swing shut behind her. After she got ready to sleep, Heeyeon crawling into bed and checked her phone. She had three messages waiting for her. One from Hyerin with a link to a cute dog video, one from Solji with a recipe she wanted to try when they got back to the dorms and the last was from Hyojin. It was a selca of her in her pajamas, hair damp and barefaced, a small smile on her face, the message read, _happy_. Anyone else would think she was fresh from the shower, but Heeyeon knew the real reason why her hair was wet, knew that it would still smell like salt and spray. Heeyeon had never had a strong desire to smell someone’s hair before. She tried not to think too hard about it.

Heeyeon still saved the picture on her phone before she fell asleep.

About a week after the trip to Fukuoka, the group was enjoying one of their last few off days they would have in the next three months. Solji and Junghwa were out shopping and Hyerin was visiting a few friends. Heeyeon was working on a knitting project while half paying attention to a variety show and Hyojin was puttering around the dorm somewhere. Heeyeon had decided to make a mermaid tail blanket because it was hilarious and she liked the idea of a blanket that came wrapped around her legs for her.

She was in the middle of an episode when Hyojin stood in front of the tv, her hands full of nail polish. She waved them invitingly at Heeyeon, saying, “Come paint my nails.”

Heeyeon put her knitting down and asked, ”I can paint them however I want?”

Hyojin nodded and Heeyeon clapped in excitement. She turned off the tv, asked Hyojin to play some music on her phone and then began to arrange the nail polish in front of her on the coffee table. Hyojin sat down on the floor while Heeyeon packed away her knitting. She was thinking of doing some pattern mixing for Hyojin’s nails. Maybe stripes or speckles.

She got up to grab some tape from her own room and as she walked back into the living room, she started asking Hyojin about something she thought of the other day. “So, unnie, if your mom is like you and your dad isn’t, how did they have you?” she asked, kneeling with Hyojin at the coffee table.

Hyojin rolled her eyes and answered, “Well, mermaids have people parts at least some of the time and they still work.”

“That’s a way less exciting answer than I was expecting,” replied Heeyeon, taking Hyojin’s right hand and laying it flat on the table so she could start with a base layer of gold polish.

“I mean, I’m not sure about the first mermaids,” said Hyojin. “The Yongwang were like dragon godkings of the ocean so I have no idea how they managed to have a kid with a human, but that’s where we came from.” 

“I bet mythical dragon dick is the best sex of your _life_ ,” Heeyeon mused.

“You’re such a pervert,” Hyojin said, laughing and shoving at Heeyeon’s shoulder.

“Hey, don’t disturb me while I’m working,” Heeyeon protested, gesturing with the brush.

Hyojin watched Heeyeon work quietly for a few minutes. “I think the clans that never leave the ocean do a weird thing with eggs and sperm clouds. It does not sound sexy at all.”

Heeyeon made a gagging sound. “‘Sperm clouds’ is the grossest thing you’ve ever said.”

“No, don’t repeat it!” Hyojin whined, cringing with her entire body while trying to keep her hand still. “I felt gross saying it.” Heeyeon finished her right hand and reached for Hyojin’s left. “Honestly, that’s probably why so many of us went on land to begin with, people sex is way better than fish sex.”

“Truth,” Heeyeon agreed, winking at Hyojin, who barked out a laugh. “Not that I know what fish sex is like.”

“Uh huh,” teased Hyojin, still laughing, “you sure seemed to think about fish sex an awful lot before you knew my secret.”

“It was the only reasonable explanation I could think of!” Heeyeon insisted, fighting back her laughter as she finished Hyojin’s left hand. She reached for her next color, a red that matched Hyojin’s favorite lipstick.

Hyojin shook her head. “Nah, you’re just a pervert.” Hyojin patted Heeyeon on the arm like she was calming Wooyoo.

Heeyeon smirked and said, “Never said I wasn’t,” shaking the bottle of polish in a suggestive way.

Hyojin made a disgusted face but didn’t move her hand away, so Heeyeon stuck out her tongue for extra emphasis. Hyojin’s pats turned into light smacks on Heeyon’s arm as she said, “Ah, why do I even put up with you?”

“I don’t have to finish unnie’s manicure,” Heeyeon said, moving to put the bottle of nail polish back down.

“Wait.” Hyojin stopped smacking Heeyeon, held her by the elbow and sighed before saying, “Ahn hyung is exactly the right amount of pervert and is great at doing nails and…” Hyojin trailed off, looking at Heeyeon for more prompting.

“I’m unnie’s favorite.”

“And is unnie’s favorite,” Hyojin repeated.

Heeyeon grinned and went to grab the nail polish again. When she looked back, Hyojin was smiling at her, wiggling her fingers against the table. Heeyeon felt herself begin to flush and tried to focus on the pattern she wanted to create on Hyojin’s nails.

A few days later at the dance studio, Heeyeon found herself getting distracted by Hyojin’s nails, the shine or the colors catching her eye in the mirror, pulling her focus from learning the routine from Hyojung. The title track wasn’t anywhere near done, but they were working on choreography for the other song they would promote with the title track once they started their comeback. It seemed like Hyojin’s hard work had paid off with many of her songs ready for initial recording this early in the comeback preparations.

But possibly Hyojin’s hard work had taken a bigger toll than Heeyeon and the rest of the girls had initially thought. Her energy in the practice room was low and her skin lacked the normal color and glow that Heeyeon was used to seeing. So maybe it wasn’t exactly Hyojin’s nail polish that kept catching Heeyeon’s eye in the mirror. She made sure to hand Hyojin bottles of water as often as possible but she couldn’t force Hyojin to drink them and it didn’t seem to improve her condition.

The break for food in the mid-afternoon was short and Hyerin and Heeyeon spent most of it trying to convince Hyojin to eat but Hyojin refused, laying down in a corner of the studio to rest. Junghwa and Solji were busy talking with Hyojung and Jaehyun trying to convince them to let Hyojin go home for the day. “They have to send her home, right, unnie?” Hyerin asked her as they ate, both of them still watching Hyojin from across the room. “She’s obviously sick.”

“I hope so.” They watched as Jaehyun walked over to kneel by Hyojin, putting his hand on her shoulder while he talked to her. Junghwa came over and sat next to Heeyeon and Hyerin while Solji started gathering her things.

“What’s happening?” Hyerin asked Junghwa.

Junghwa’s nose was scrunched with worry. “Solji unnie is going to go with Jaehyun oppa and take Hyojin unnie to the doctor. Hyojung unnie said we could just practice what we’ve learned so far today and go home a little early.”

“That’s something, at least,” Heeyeon said. The concern Heeyeon felt made her want to be more dramatic, to throw a fit at Jaehyun for even letting Hyojin leave the dorm today looking the way she did. But it wouldn’t make anything better and knowing Hyojin, it would only make her feel more guilty about being sick.

Everyone went over to say goodbye to Hyojin as she left with Solji and Jaehyun, still looking dazed and pale. Heeyeon hugged her as tightly as she dared. “Try to rest when you get back to the dorm, unnie.”

“No promises,” Hyojin said with a faint smile.

The rest of dance practice was subdued and quiet. Hyojung only kept them for a few more hours before letting them head back to the dorms. On the way back, Hyerin got a phone call from Solji. “Jaehyun oppa’s with her now. The doctor says that he has to wait for some test results before he can diagnose her, but Hyojin is severely dehydrated and they’re uhh,” Solji’s voice cracked and Heeyeon felt it in her body, a roiling through her gut, “they’re going to keep her here at the hospital tonight to make sure she gets her fluids and wait for any test results.”

Heeyeon zoned out from phone call at that point, her brain working through a fog for much of the rest of the night. She knew she helped make dinner and after a few more phone calls from Solji and Jaehyun, Solji had returned to the dorm for the night. They tried, unsuccessfully, to distract themselves with tv and music, but they all just ended up going to bed early, hoping that the morning would bring good news.

As Heeyeon was heading to her room from the bathroom, Junghwa caught her in the hallway and wrapped her in a tight hug. “You’re so strong, unnie.” Heeyeon didn’t really know what Junghwa was talking about, she was the opposite of strong, basically a wreck of a human at the moment, but the hug was nice. Junghwa ended the hug and cupped Heeyeon’s face. “I’m sure she’ll be fine tomorrow. She just needs to take it easy.”

“Then, I”ll need your help,” Heeyeon said. “We both know how bad she is at that.”

Junghwa nodded and said, “Goodnight, unnie.”

It only took a few minutes for Heeyeon to fall asleep, the stress of the day had taken its toll. Heeyeon didn’t always dream but her nightmares were filled with sinister doctors and harsh lights. Hushed conversations with men in suits and dark glasses, “mermaid” the only word she could hear. Could you even tell someone was a mermaid through a blood test? Was there a test for mythical ocean dragon-godking DNA? Was Hyojin sick from some kind of mermaid-only disease? There was a lot that Heeyeon didn’t know about Hyojin’s _condition_ and her brain was willing to supply her with every worst-case scenario.

The next morning, Heeyeon felt like crap having gotten her worst night of sleep in months, but they got the good news that Hyojin was on her way back to the dorms having been cleared by the doctor. She’d just had a fever and hadn’t been taking care of herself. She just needed another day of rest and a stricter eye on her eating and drinking. The rest of the group was due to head to the recording studio, only Hyojin excused from comeback preparations for the day. Jaehyun let them wait at the dorms until Hyojin made it home so they could smother her with hugs, fightings and some gentle scolding from Solji.

Later in the day, while watching Hyerin lay down some temporary vocal tracks, Heeyeon’s phone buzzed with a message from Hyojin, _hope I didn’t worry you too much_.

 _i only had like three nightmares about men in suits taking you away. It’s fine_ , Heeyeon replied.

Hyojin sent back a frowning emoji.

 _I’m going to force you to eat at every meal from now on_ , Heeyeon messaged.

_Oh noooo. How terrible. Anything but that!_

_I mean it, you’re going to get so round and chubby from how much I feed you._

_Ahn hyung takes care of me the best._

Heeyeon couldn’t stop her smile even when Solji nudged her to get her attention. “Hyojin?” Solji asked, pointing at Heeyeon’s phone. Heeyeon nodded. “Good thing she’s awake. She must be feeling better if she’s making you smile.” Heeyeon shrugged, tried not to blush and put her phone away. It was her turn next in the booth and she didn’t need to be distracted while trying to record. She had to ignore how even Solji had noticed that Hyojin could effortlessly make her smile.

Hyojin’s recovery went well, joining the group in practices and recordings a few days later. Everyone in the dorms doted on her until she got too overwhelmed with all of the attention and began hunkering down with her laptop and headphones again. Comeback preparations were ramping up, so it wasn’t like everyone had a ton of extra energy to entice Hyojin out of her self-seclusion at the end of the day. But she didn’t turn down the food Heeyeon would leave on her desk and the extra bottles of water she’d hand her during every van ride.

Their schedule had a short break in preparations for a trip to Jeju for a music festival. It was a welcome rest from the constant practices, recordings and meetings. During check in at the hotel, Heeyeon couldn’t help but notice that they were just meters from the water. There wasn’t much in the way of a beach, just the black rock from the island’s volcano creating a barrier between the ocean and land.

Upstairs and settled into their rooms, Heeyeon went across the hall and knocked on Hyojin’s door. She pushed past Hyojin and waited for the door to close before she asked, “Do you want my help sneaking out tonight? I could probably get Jaehyun oppa to lecture me about the history of Jeju-do for a couple of hours.”

Hyojin bit her lip while she thought. “Maybe,” she said and Heeyeon could tell she wanted to say something else.

“Well, let me know,” Heeyeon said.

“Actually, why don’t you come with me?” Hyojin asked, sitting on her bed, looking up at Heeyeon.

“What?” Heeyeon was confused. She leaned against the desk in the room, watching Hyojin turn to avoid her eyes.

“Come swimming with me. After all of this, you should see, I guess.” Hyojin looked almost bashful, hand running through her hair.

It was a look Heeyeon wasn’t used to and it made her heart beat a little faster. . “I don’t have a bathing suit,” she said, lamely.

“Well, neither do I. Just swim in your underwear.”

“Okay.” In the positive column, Hyojin wouldn’t be alone. In the negative column, they’d both be in deep shit if they got caught sneaking out. She could probably convince Hyerin to cover for them. She loved mischief from a distance.

“Oh, and bring a hat,” Hyojin said. Heeyeon cocked her head to the side rather than actually asking a question out loud. “That’s how you hide your wet hair on the way back.”

“Ahh,” Heeyeon said. 

“I’ll come get you a little after midnight. There’s a place about a ten minute walk from here that we can go to. I’ve been there before. And I have a waterproof bag we can put your stuff in, for while we’re swimming.” The smile on Hyojin’s face had Heeyeon’s thoughts stuttering.

Heeyeon gave Hyojin a thumbs up and started to text Hyerin as soon as she left Hyojin’s room. _Hyojin unnie and I want to take a late night walk. Can you make sure the manager oppas don’t go looking for us?_

 _Ahh, so romantic~!_ Hyerin teased. Heeyeon rolled her eyes as another message came in. _Unnies deserve a break. Of course I’ll help._

Later at dinner, Hyerin saluted Heeyeon when no one was looking and Heeyeon almost choked on her mouthful of food. She nodded her acknowledgement at Hyerin, adding a wink and they both burst out into laughter, confusing everyone else at the table. But that was normal. She was surprised she could eat much of anything, tension simmering in her stomach. It wasn’t like she was scared of swimming, even though the ocean could be intimidating.

Heeyeon tried to distract herself as much as possible between dinner and midnight. She played some phone games, video chatted with her dad, and tried reading some manhwa, but nothing could hold her attention for long. She had finished changing into a baggy sweatshirt and dark workout pants when Hyojin knocked quietly on her door just after midnight. Hyojin already had a mask and hat on, covering her face and hiding her hair. Heeyeon did the same, pulling on a cap and mask and following Hyojin out the door.

The walk over to wherever Hyojin was taking them was quiet. Occasional cars zoomed by them, but the island seemed quiet and they didn’t see many other people out walking on their way. Hyojin walked them to a small park that overlooked the water, a little overlook and ice cream stand deserted for the night.

Heeyeon burst out laughing when they turned the corner, a statue of a mermaid sitting prominently in the middle of the outlook, the sea spread out behind it, reflecting the lights of Jeju. “Oh, this is just too perfect.”

“Ugh, stop,” Hyojin said, close to whining.

That just made Heeyeon laugh harder, having to wipe the beginnings of tears from her eyes. She pulled out her phone and ran up to the statue, “Let’s take a selca.” Hyojin looked at her questioningly. “Our alibi for Hyerin,” Heeyeon explained, waving Hyojin closer and pulling her mask down from her face. “She thinks we’re out for a walk.”

“Not a complete lie,” Hyojin said, pulling down her own mask and crowding close to Heeyeon to fit her face into the camera’s frame with Heeyeon and the statue. They smiled as the flash went off and Heeyeon sent the picture to Hyerin. She ignored the message full of hearts and kisses she got in reply, giving her phone to Hyojin to put in her bag. Hyojin pointed at a large rock formation that jutted out from the water in front of them. “That’s Dragon Head Rock, though you really have to look at it from the other side. There’s a bunch of different local legends about it.”

“A dragon head _and_ a mermaid statue? Relatives of yours?” teased Heeyeon. Hyojin just rolled her eyes.

They had to climb over the railing to get onto the shore, long grass reaching up to their waists that quickly gave way to rock. They maneuvered their way into a gap between rocks, no longer visible from the road and hopefully hidden from anyone gazing out their window at the ocean. Heeyeon could see a bunch of stored fishing gear that probably belonged to the haenyo women. It gave her some comfort to think that women had been diving into the ocean from this very spot for centuries.

They crouched low, stripping off their clothes and shoes, putting everything in Hyojin’s bag and stuffing the bag into a crevice, leaving them both in just their bras and underwear. The rocks were sharp, biting into Heeyeon’s bare feet as she followed Hyojin towards the water. They were quiet, the sound of the ocean rushing against the rocks noise enough to fill Heeyeon’s head.

“Careful,” Hyojin said, breaking the silence. “The water gets deep almost right away. There’s not much we can do about the tide, but I’ll be able to swim us back from wherever we end up drifting.”

Heeyeon watched Hyojin climb in first and she had to fight back the urge to tell her to stop. That the ocean was dangerous and no matter how good of a swimmer she was, this was dangerous and Hyojin could get hurt. That the last thing Heeyeon wanted was Hyojin risking harm to herself. But there was a pull there too, like the tug of the tides, pulling Heeyeon to follow her, to trust her with this like she did with everything else. Hyojin had trusted Heeyeon with her life, essentially, with her secret. Heeyeon could trust Hyojin with hers in return.

The water was frigid, shocking Heeyeon’s skin, every inch of her tingling with cold. She pushed off the rocks and swam towards Hyojin who was a few meters in front of her. She watched Hyojin dive down, the glint of something shiny on her lower body just under the water. As she reached the place where Hyojin had disappeared, she resurfaced again, flipping her wet hair out of her face. It was like watching a live action _Little Mermaid_ up close.

Heeyeon stamped down her feelings and asked, “Can mermaids get hypothermia?” Her teeth were chattering. “Because I’m pretty sure humans can.”

Hyojin laughed and reached out her hand towards Heeyeon. “I almost forgot. Grab my hand.”

Heeyeon did and as soon as they touched, warmth filled Heeyeon again so it felt like she was swimming in a warmed pool and not the frigid spring water of the ocean. “What is-”

“Pretty much the only thing magical about mermaids. Besides our tails I guess. Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” Heeyeon said, meaning it completely.

“Okay,” Hyojin said, moving close enough to Heeyeon to wrap her in a hug. “Take a deep breath and hold tight.”

As soon as Heeyeon did, she felt herself get pulled down into the water. Hyojin was diving down, powerful tail propelling them deep into the water. Heeyeon didn’t feel the strain of holding air in her lungs, it felt like she was breathing normally, even though she was holding her breath. Hyojin swam deeper. It was hard to see under the water, murky shapes floating past them, the occasional flash of real fish darting past them.

Deep in the dark, Hyojin finally stopped, tail working to keep them relatively still. Looking back up towards the surface, Heeyeon could see the lights from Jeju faintly, like god rays piercing the water but eventually fading into the darkness. A sweet sound rang in Heeyeon’s ears through the muffling of the water and it took a moment for her to realize it was coming from Hyojin. It sounded nothing like actual singing but it was definitely a song. Heeyeon had spent years listening to Hyojin’s music, she knew who had created it. It was beautiful but alien and while Heeyeon couldn’t see any clearer in the deep, she felt like she understood why Hyojin had brought her here. Like Hyojin was showing Heeyeon her truest, deepest self. The water camouflaged Heeyeon’s tears and she held Hyojin tighter, feeling the notes echo through her.

Heeyeon didn’t realize they were ascending at first until the light around them began to grow brighter. They broke the surface of the water and Heeyeon finally let out the breath she was holding. She pushed her wet hair out of her face and did the same for Hyojin, careful not to pull away from her.

Heeyeon had always found Hyojin beautiful, ever since they met years ago, but seeing her here in the light reflected off the water, joy so evident on her face, it was like a revelation. It didn’t matter that her tail wasn’t visible, that she looked like any other girl swimming in the water, that anyone else would think there’s nothing special about her. Hyojin was unique and gorgeous and there was no escaping the fact that Heeyeon was utterly captivated.

“Unnie,” Heeyeon started, her voice shaky even though she had caught her breath, stopping when she felt something like a fish curl around her legs and pull her closer even to Hyojin. “That had better be your tail.”

Hyojin cupped Heeyeon’s head in her hands as she laughed and Heeyeon felt the puff of air on her lips. Heeyeon let her eyes close as Hyojin kissed her, the pressure of her lips as plaintive as her song had been, as if Hyojin was worried about Heeyeon swimming away and leaving her alone. The dragon head rock coming to life was more likely. When Hyojin pulled back, Heeyeon followed after her, hands on her shoulders, starting another kiss. This time it was deeper, Heeyeon insistent with her tongue until Hyojin’s mouth opened under hers.

The ocean rocked them, bobbed them up and down in the water and Heeyeon felt none of the intimidation she had when she’d first stepped in. She wasn’t sure if that was mermaid magic or just that she knew she belonged here in this moment and that Hyojin would keep her safe. Hyojin’s hands slid down Heeyeon’s neck and shoulders, palming over her breasts through her bra.

Heeyeon fought back a moan, her hands running down Hyojin’s sides under the water, eventually reaching the place where skin began to turn to scales. She followed the curve of Hyojin’s body back to where her butt would have been if it wasn’t currently a tail.

“Tickles,” Hyojin exhaled, resting her forehead against Heeyeon’s. Heeyeon couldn’t resist a squeeze and Hyojin’s tail twitched against her legs. “Yah, it might be my tail, but it’s still my ass.”

“And a fine one it is,” Heeyeon smirked, leaning in for another kiss. Hyojin chuckled and Heyeeon’s grin was big, making the kiss an awkward bumping of teeth and lips until Hyojin wove one hand into the hair at the nape of Heeyeon’s neck, maneuvering her head to a better angle. It made Heeyeon want to be back at the hotel, to have the space to push and pull at each other as they pleased.

At some point they separated, Heeyeon’s lips stinging from salt and Hyojin’s teeth. “We need to go back,” Hyojin said and Heeyeon nodded, not trusting her own voice, letting Hyojin guide them back to the shore.

They dressed silently, but Heeyeon couldn’t help watching Hyojin and catching Hyojin when she snuck looks at her. Hyojin helped her tuck her wet hair under her hat and they climbed back up the rocks together. Heeyeon took back her phone and sent a quick text to Hyerin to tell her they were on their way back. They had been gone for almost two hours.

Heeyeon wasn’t sure what would happen when they got back to the hotel. But she took Hyojin’s hand and Hyojin wove their fingers together and they stayed that way for the entire walk back. They finally separated as they entered the hotel lobby and Heeyeon knew it was ridiculous but she felt herself grow colder. It was silly to think that Hyojin’s mermaid magic worked outside of the water but the loss of Hyojin’s hand hit Heeyeon like a gust of frigid winter air.

They stayed apart in the elevator and Heeyeon watched Hyojin toy with her hat and nibble on her own lips. Lips that Heeyeon could still taste if she imagined hard enough. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize Hyojin was speaking until she was halfway through a sentence.

“-probably be mature about this.”

“Mature, yes,” Heeyeon echoed with a sinking heart. Hyojin looked so nervous and Heeyeon felt doubt slither through her. Maybe this was just a one-sided thing and Heeyeon had fooled herself into thinking that-

“You weren’t paying attention were you?” asked Hyojin, eyes narrowed at Heeyeon.

“Uh, well,” Heeyeon delayed, adjusting her hat.

Hyojin moved across the elevator, planting one hand on the wall next to Heeyeon’s head and the other hand gently lifting Heeyeon’s chin. “I said that if we went back to one of our rooms, we probably wouldn’t be getting a lot of sleep. So we should do the mature thing and see each other in the morning.”

Heeyeon breathed out a sigh of relief and grinned at Hyojin. “We should definitely be mature,” she said, before reaching out to grab Hyojin’s ass for a quick squeeze. Heeyeon wished she had been recording Hyojin’s reaction with her phone because she definitely squeaked and that was a sound Heeyeon was committing to memory.

Hyojin tried to slap at Heeyeon’s hand, but the elevator had opened at their floor and Heeyeon dashed out of reach, heading down the hallway towards her room. She had just about gotten her door open with her keycard when Hyojin caught up to her and wrapped her arms around her in a back hug. Heeyeon had to stifle her laughter, not wanting to wake up anyone.

“Goodnight,” Hyojin whispered, pressing a quick kiss to the side of Heeyeon’s neck. The back hug was over just as quickly, Hyojin retreating to her own room. Heeyeon expected sleep to come slowly, expected to be wound up from the trip to the ocean, but she fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.

When Heeyeon got out of the shower in the morning, her hair had been a wreck from the salt water, there was a message waiting for her on her phone. It was a picture from Hyojin, showing an empty stretch of bed and just Hyojin’s arm splayed on the sheets. The message read, _wish you were here_ , and Heeyeon was honestly grateful that the message came after she had started her shower. If it had come earlier, well, Heeyeon would have been late for the van ride to the venue.

It had been so long since she had felt the surge of real attraction to someone and it was a little overwhelming. Sure, Heeyeon was surrounded by gorgeous people in this industry on an almost daily basis, but little crushes or finding someone cute or fun to be around was nothing in comparison to the magnitude of her feelings for Hyojin. She _knew_ Hyojin, not just her persona, but the real person she’d spent so many years of her life with. She knew which songs would make Hyojin get up and dance no matter what, how she squeezed her toothpaste from the wrong end of the tube, what she looked like 60 hours into promotions, running on caffeine and too little sleep. No, this wasn’t the rush of getting to know a new person, this was the deep pull of wanting someone close all the time.

Heeyeon sent back, _tease_ , and threw her phone back on the bed so she could focus on getting ready for a day of rehearsals and performing. In the mirror, she could see that there were bags under her eyes thanks to going to sleep so late, but it wouldn’t be the first time they would have to be hidden with makeup.

She wasn’t the last person to the lobby, thankfully, so she waited with the rest of the group for Junghwa, Hyojin and one of their managers. They were probably still upstairs waiting to make sure Junghwa and Hyojin made it out of their rooms in one piece. 

“Late night last night?” Solji asked Heeyeon, gesturing at her own eyes and Hyerin gave Heeyeon a big wink from across the group and made a couple of greasy expressions. There were even finger guns.

Heeyeon grimaced with her nod and put on her sunglasses. She was glad she brought one of her biggest pairs, they nearly covered her entire face. She’d have worn her hat too, but she’d only brought the one and that was ruined from the saltwater. Just thinking about it made Heeyeon’s cheeks warm. Just as Heeyeon was able to stamp those feelings back down, Hyojin appeared in the lobby with Jungwha and their manager.

“Let’s hit the road,” Solji declared, only to look at Jaehyun for approval. He nodded and she grinned, leading them out of the lobby to the rental vans. Hyojin fell in step next to Heeyeon and leaned over to bump their shoulders together. Heeyeon bumped back. To anyone else, it would look like a normal morning.

They didn’t sit near each other for the van ride but Heeyeon spent at least half the time starting and erasing different messages to Hyojin. She wanted to talk to her, but she really also wanted to pick up where they had left off the night before. And while the day’s schedule would feature a lot of down time between rehearsals, a couple of interviews and the performance, they would have almost no alone time. Jeju was a small island though, so the ride was short and Heeyeon didn’t get a chance to make up her mind about what she wanted to say.

After rehearsals, the group was eating lunch and Heeyeon was scrolling through her instagram out of general boredom when she got a notification for a message from Hyojin. Heeyeon looked up to see Hyojin across the room, also eating and staring at her phone, looking engrossed in whatever she was reading and not interested in whatever was going on in the rest of the room. Heeyeon tapped on the notification and took another bite of her chicken.

_wish we could talk right now._

_yeah sure, talk_ , Heeyeon sent back.

 _that too_ , was the reply and Heeyeon saw Hyojin’s smirk when she looked up. Heeyeon wiggled her eyebrows suggestively across the room and Hyojin chuckled, having to cover her mouth with her hand.

A few minutes later, Heeyeon’s phone buzzed with another message. _meet me in the bathroom in 15 minutes_.

Heeyeon rolled her eyes. _this is some actual middle school shit_

Hyojin just sent back a kiss and praying emoji. Heeyeon shook her head as she put her phone down and continued to eat, refusing to look at Hyojin but also unable to wipe the smile off of her own face. When the fifteen minutes had passed, Heeyeon cleaned up her food and walked to the bathroom. Hyojin hadn’t left the room yet when Heeyeon did, so she spent a minute fixing her hair in the mirror, listening for other people in the bathroom and god, this felt ridiculous.

Heeyeon had every intention of talking to Hyojin, but when Hyojin walked into the bathroom, she held up her finger to her lips, shushing Heeyeon. “We’re alone, right?” she asked, which Heeyeon thought defeated the purpose of staying quiet, but she nodded and followed Hyojin into a stall, locking it behind them.

They really should talk, because they were right on the cusp of something that could ruin the group in the long run. Relationships, and Heeyeon was pretty sure at this point that there was no other word for what they were, were frowned upon in general, let alone one with a group member. Dating wasn’t something they could really do, not as idols and not as a pair of women, which compounded the issue. Getting caught would be bad, breaking up would be even worse, no way to ask for space when you were all contractually obligated to work together. There was shit that needed talking about.

But Hyojin crowded her towards the stall door and said, “We have 5 minutes, max,” and Heeyeon decided that there was a better way to spend those five minutes. She moved her hand to the back of Hyojin’s neck and pulled her into a kiss. The atmosphere was much less magical this time, but kissing Hyojin was no less breathtaking. Heeyeon kept the pace slow, using her hand on Hyojin’s neck to direct her, wanting to savor their momentary privacy.

Her other hand rested on Hyojin’s hip, her one-piece stage outfit frustrating Heeyeon with her lack of access to the skin of Hyojin’s waist. Hyojin lacked a similar frustration, skimming her hands over Heeyeon’s bare midriff. Heeyeon’s sensitive stomach jumped under Hyojin’s light touch and she made a noise that was close to a growl, pulling Hyojin closer. Hyojin snickered into the kiss but followed Heeyeon’s lead.

They couldn’t do much more than kiss, limited by time and their impending performance. As much as Heeyeon might have wanted to taste the skin of Hyojin’s neck, it wasn’t an option. That didn’t stop Hyojin from eventually reaching higher with her hands, brushing Heyeeon’s breasts. It was enough for Heeyeon to break the kiss, pulling back to see Hyojin smirking at her.

"Sorry," Hyojin whispered. "Couldn't help it."

"You're not sorry at all," Heeyeon replied, because Hyojin's hands hadn't left, thumbs swiping back and forth and making Heeyeon's breath hitch.

"True," Hyojin said, giving Heeyeon's breasts quick squeeze before dropping her hands all together.

Heeyeon took a few steadying breaths and ran her fingers through her hair. "We should go back before I actually tear your clothes off." Putting the thought into words only made her picture it and that was dangerous.

"Aggressive," Hyojin noted as Heeyeon unlocked and left the stall, Hyojin following behind her and giving her a pat on the butt. "I like that."

Heeyeon turned around to give her a wink and then immediately tried to bury all her thoughts about just what exactly Hyojin would like. Heeyeon had herself largely under control by the time the performance came around but she knew that as soon as it was over, they were going to be flying back to Seoul and a packed preparations schedule with no guaranteed time alone for herself and Hyojin. She could at least use the sexual frustration to fuel her performances but that was cold comfort when Hyojin remained so close and was still untouchable.

Back from Jeju, the girls were spending a lot of time in the studio, tracking as much as their voices could handle. Heeyeon and Hyojin kept up their flirtation via text and the occasional selca, but they ended up coming back to the dorms each night exhausted, no time to sneak into each other's rooms and no downtime to slink away for more making out. 

Finally, on a night when Heeyeon was the last one in the studio working on her vocals for the new title track, Hyojin sent her a message letting her know that she was in her own studio, working on a different track and did Heeyeon want to come over and listen once she was done recording. Hyojin might as well have asked Heeyeon to come over for ramyeon with some suggestive emojis, the implication was so clear. Once she had finished her recording session for the night, she let the managers waiting for her know that she was going to hang out with Hyojin for a bit and they would call for a ride back to the dorms when they were done.

Barely able to hold in her giddiness, Heeyeon went to Hyojin's studio. When she knocked, Hyojin opened the door immediately and pulled Heeyeon inside. "Hi," said Heeyeon right before kissing Hyojin, not letting her say anything. She took her by the shoulders and began to guide her back towards the couch. Hyojin's studio space was small, the desk at one end arrayed with a variety of audio equipment for Hyojin to work with to make demo tracks to bring to their producers. At the other end was a couch that was normally for producers and members when they wanted to work with Hyojin on something. This was very much not work, Heeyeon thought to herself as she pushed Hyojin to lay down on the couch and knelt over her hips.

“Have I said before,” Hyojin said between kisses, words short and breathy, “that I really like it when you’re aggressive?” Heeyeon didn’t respond, just pushed her hands under Hyojin’s sweatshirt until she finally took it off. “Yeah, totally doing it for me,” Hyojin added while Heeyeon unzipped her own hoodie, shrugging it off and tossing it to the floor.

She leaned back down over Hyojin, cupping her jaw while kissing her deeply, tasting the crappy office coffee Hyojin must have had earlier. Hyojin’s hands steadied Heyeeon’s waist while she ground her hips up into Heeyeon, arousal surging through Heeyeon like a lightning bolt. She hissed, breaking the kiss and moving down to mouth at Hyojin’s neck, something she had been thinking about for a while now. Heeyeon didn’t have the time to mark it up like she would want, settling for sucking at the skin under Hyojin’s ear and nipping at the juncture between her neck and shoulder. Hyojin groaned underneath her, reaching to undo her bra.

The frenzied groping and kissing didn’t slow down until they were both finally naked and Heeyeon pulled back to look at Hyojin spread out underneath her. Her skin was flushed, hair mussed and her deep breaths were doing wondrous things to her breasts. Heeyeon had thought she had already seen Hyojin at her most breathtaking, in the middle of a performance, absorbed in songwriting and under the night sky on Jeju, but those all paled in comparison to what was in front of her now. “Hi,” she said quietly, sliding a hand up Hyojin’s side.

“Hi,” Hyojin replied, smirking and tugging on Heeyeon’s arm to pull her back down again. With her other hand, she tucked some of Heeyeon’s hair behind her ear and leaned close to say, "I want to taste you." Now, that was an idea.

Heeyeon groaned out a, “yes,” and pushed up to let Hyojin out from under her, but Hyojin stopped her with a shake of her head.

“Like this,” Hyojin said, shifting under Heeyeon to slide a little further down the couch and Heeyeon thought she might have blacked out for a second.

Unable to form words at the moment, Heeyeon nodded and moved up the couch, now kneeling just past Hyojin’s shoulders, Hyojin’s arms braced on her thighs. Heeyeon whined as Hyojin pulled her lower and the first touch of Hyojin’s tongue had her quaking. She had been waiting for this for so long, so much tension built up over time that Heeyeon was sure she would last about a minute.

But Hyojin seemed to want to tease, starting slow and light, smiling every time she pulled a noise from Heeyeon. She didn't want to think about Hyojin with another woman, or man for that matter, mercreature or otherwise. It didn't matter where Hyojin learned to be so damn good with her mouth, as long as she was using her mouth on Heeyeon. Hyojin hummed under her and Heeyeon put a hand on Hyojin’s head, petting at her hair. She seemed to push into the touch and Heeyeon followed her with her hips. Hyojin encouraged her rocking, tongue and lips using more pressure, spurring Heeyeon to go faster until Hyojin was moving a hand to rub at her clit and Heeyeon was coming, hand gripped tight on Hyojin’s hair.

Her breath left her in a rush and she tried to lean forward, but Hyojin’s fingers were teasing at her entrance, her lips moving up to her clit, sending Heeyeon rocketing towards another orgasm. Heeyeon braced herself on the back of the couch, moaning out Hyojin’s name as her body shuddered, thighs gripping tight around Hyojin’s head.

Heeyeon was still trembling when Hyojin let her slump to the side, moving out from under her so that Heeyeon could lay down on the couch, Hyojin curled into her side. “Oh my god,” Heeyeon said, panting, her mental state not being helped by Hyojin wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and smiling that cartoon cat smile. “I’m going to be so mad when we don’t do that literally every day,” she said, leaning in to kiss Hyojin, now only tasting herself.

“Who says we can’t?” teased Hyojin, breaking the kiss and Heeyeon gave her a dubious look.

Rather than argue, Heeyeon pushed her so she was flat on her back again, trailing fingers down to her thighs. She noticed how tightly they were clenched together, Hyojin almost whimpering as she pried them apart. “Liked that, did you?” Heeyeon taunted, leaving Hyojin’s mouth to kiss and suck at her breasts.

“No shit,” Hyojin laughed, breathless, nails digging into Heeyeon’s shoulder as she gently used her teeth on Hyojin’s nipple and swiped her thumb over her clit. Hyojin was loud, Heeyeon learned, gasps and moans pouring out of her as Heeyeon’s fingers brought her close, stroking until she found the spot that made Hyojin nearly scream. Heeyeon quieted her when she came, silencing her with a kiss and while the sound Hyojin made into Heeyeon’s mouth wasn’t quite like her mermaid song, it overwhelmed Heeyeon in the same way.

Later, when they were in the van back to the dorms and trying their flushed skin and irrepressible smiles, Heeyeon said, “We should go back to Jeju sometime. Just for fun, you know?”

“That would be nice,” Hyojin said, reaching across the seats to hold Heeyeon’s hand. That was something they could still get away with, though now that Heeyeon knew what those hands could do, it might be dangerous for a different reason.

With the title track finally in place and ready to master, comeback preparations picked up even more after that night. Photoshoots, interviews and fittings filled their mornings while dance practices stretched late into the night. There were still occasional appearances and performances shoved into their days as well. The last time Heeyeon had spent any significant alone time with Hyojin was when she had stayed up waiting for Hyojin to get back from the studio, only she had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up to Hyojin curled up next to her. Solji had taken pictures on her phone and posted them in the group kkt.

Hyojin’s bath times had been cut down dramatically and Heeyeon could tell it was getting to her in addition to the long hours of exhausting work and practice. Heeyeon suck her extra coffee and snacks when she could, but Hyojin’s temper was definitely shorter than normal and it was starting to get to everyone.

They were in the dance studio at two in the morning when Hyojin finally snapped. If they could get through the title track’s choreography cleanly, they would be able to go home after another grueling day of practice. But they were on their fifth try and everyone’s energy was flagging. 

During the bridge, Hyojin slipped on a turn, her heels sliding out from under her and sending her crashing to the ground. She grimaced and let out a quiet groan. Everyone rushed over to see if she was hurt, song still looping in the background, but Hyojin waved them off and tried to stand up. Junghwa braced a hand on her back to help her and once Hyojin was steady on her feet, she pushed Junghwa’s hand away.

“Did your ankle twist at all on the way down?”

“Unnie, you shouldn’t be walking just yet.”

“Why don’t we get some ice?”

“Five minutes,” Hyojin said, her eyes closed and face pinched in pain and frustration.

“Unnie,” started Hyerin.

“Five fucking minutes!” Hyojin snapped as she squatted down to take off her heels.

Solji sighed and folded her arms across her chest, a sign of impending scolding. “Could you not yell at us? It’s not crime to be worried about you.”

“I’m fine, unnie,” Hyojin said through clenched teeth as she stood up. “I just need a break.” She walked across the studio to grab her bag and bottle of water and walk out the door, shutting it behind her.

The studio fell silent as Hyojung turned off the music. “Start your cool downs, we don’t need anymore injuries. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow.”

They started their cool down stretches, everyone watching the door. “She’s just so stubborn sometimes,” Solji said. “What if she’s really hurt?”

Heeyeon looked at the worried faces of the other members and said, “I’ll go talk to her.” She made eye contact with Solji, hoping to silently tell her it was okay to back down about this. Solji nodded in understanding. Heeyeon knew Solji took her role as leader seriously, but Hyojin didn’t always respond well to being prodded.

Heeyeon left the studio and turned the corner in the hallway, surprised to find Hyojin in front of her sitting on the floor, legs stretched out in front of her.

Hyojin sighed loudly, tipped her head back against the wall, eyes closed and asked, “What now?”

“Stop being an ass,” Heeyeon replied, squatting down next to Hyojin and patting her shoulder. Hyojin ignored her lack of honorific, possibly because she was already angry. “We’re going home.” 

“No, we’re finishing,” Hyojin said, irritation clear in her voice. “This is our job, we have to-”

“We’re going home,” Heeyeon insisted, cutting Hyojin off, “and we’re icing your ankle just to be sure.”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Bullshit,” Heeyeon said. “I hurt basically everywhere and I didn’t even fall. We’re stopping, you’re taking care of your ankle, and you’re going to suck it the fuck up and apologize.”

Hyojin was still frowning as she looked over at Heeyeon and some small part of Heeyeon that wasn’t pissed and worried cooed at how squishy and cute her face looked. This was bad.

“I will demand Jaehyun oppa give us the morning off so you can take a bath.” Heeyeon saw Hyojin’s face soften just a little. “I’ll use the stuff you bought on Jeju. I’ll even sit in the bathroom with you, if you want. Us in a bathroom is a good time.”

“Fine,” Hyojin sighed, stretching out her arms so Heeyeon could help her up. The corners of her mouth turned down again and Heeyeon hoped she hadn’t put too much weight on her ankle. As they walked back to the studio, Heeyeon watched Hyojin for signs of a limp. Nothing was too obvious, it might just have been sore muscles. Heeyeon certainly had enough of those herself. Hyojin led the way back into the studio, saying, “I’m an asshole. Let’s go home,” as soon as she opened the door.

The van ride back to the dorm was quiet, everyone too tired to bother talking. Heeyeon sent a few texts to Jaehyun, letting him know about Hyojin’s fall and asking to put off the recording time for a few hours in the morning. He reluctantly agreed on the condition that Hyojin get her ankle looked at no matter what. Heeyeon was going to wait until the morning to tell her that, once she was relaxed from her bath.

Everyone headed for bed, Heeyeon stopping in the kitchen to grab an ice pack from the freezer. They always kept a few ready, bruises and sore muscles all too common with their work schedules.

“Ahn hyung takes such good care of her girlfriend,” Junghwa said, leaning in her doorway as Heeyeon walked towards Hyojin’s room with the ice pack. For a moment, all Heeyeon could hear was the rushing of blood in her ears, missing Junghwa saying goodnight.

What did Junghwa know that Heeyeon didn’t? Because that conversation hadn’t happened yet, as much as Heeyeon had tried and then gotten distracted with her tongue doing other more enjoyable things. Maybe Junghwa was just teasing. That was completely reasonable. In a daze, she continued to Hyojin’s room. She had already changed into her pajamas and was sitting on her bed, scrolling through her phone. 

“Yah,” Heeyeon said, mostly to annoy Hyojin. She needed some needling. “It’s time for bed. Lay down, I want to prop up your foot.”

Hyojin put down her phone in a huff and stayed put on the bed. “Why are you suddenly treating me like a child?”

“What happened to 'Ahn hyung takes care of me the best?’” Heeyeon replied. When Hyojin didn't say anything, she added, “Because I care about you,” her tone getting harsh. She wished that was more obvious to Hyojin. Junghwa’s words echoed in her head as Hyojin rolled her eyes at her. Maybe some things needed saying out loud, since Hyojin clearly wasn’t getting it. Heeyeon had put this off for long enough, even if she was too exhausted to soften her words. “I care if you get hurt and don’t fucking take care of yourself.”

“You don’t have to mom the whole group, Solji does that enough for all of us.”

“You think I give a shit about the group right now?” Heeyeon asked, putting the ice pack down on Hyojin’s desk and crossing her arms. “Are you serious?”

“I just-” Hyojin started, leaning to look past Heeyeon to check if her door was closed, lowering her voice to a hiss, “my secret doesn’t make me incapable to taking caring of myself.”

“Uh, you _aren’t_ taking care of yourself. I don’t care about your secret.”

“That’s not how you’ve been acting.”

Hyojin looked so hurt that Heeyeon almost got mad at herself before remembering that she hadn’t actually done anything wrong. “What does that mean?”

“You haven’t shut up about how great Jeju was since we left.”

“Yeah, because this,” Heeyeon said, gesturing between them, “started on Jeju.”

“No shit, a fucking siren sings a song for you, of course you’re going to fall for them! That’s the whole deal.” Hyojin sounded ashamed and disappointed, like she really had cast a spell on Heeyeon and was breaking it right now, ready for Heeyeon to walk out the door and never come back.

Heeyeon puffed out a breath of air and sat next to Hyojin on the bed, not looking at her. “You left that part out when you were explaining mermaid logistics.” She thought back to the night in Jeju, if there had been some dramatic change in Heeyeon’s feelings after Hyojin had sang for her. But she had already known that Hyojin had made beautiful music, that she was gorgeous and funny and a stubborn jerk who took baths that lasted forever. “I think I’ve felt this way about you for a long time. Long before I knew you had a tail,” Heeyeon confessed, still looking down at her hands. 

She felt Hyojin looking at her and it took her a moment to gather the nerve to look up. Hyojin looked awestruck, like what Heeyeon had said was surprising. Hyojin bit at her own lip before saying, “I think I have too.”

“Good,” Heeyeon said, leaning over to kiss Hyojin slowly. She maneuvered them together down onto the bed. When she ended the kiss, the two of them laying next to each other, Heeyeon propped up on Hyojin’s chest, she asked, “Can you really make someone fall for you by singing for them?”

“Not really, I don’t think,” Hyojin replied, her hand idly tracing patterns on Heeyeon’s back. “I can put someone in a trance though.”

“That’s good for sailor murdering.”

Heeyeon felt Hyojin shrug underneath her. “I guess.” Hyojin was quiet and Heeyeon knew she building up the courage to say something. “You’re the only human I’ve ever sung for.”

Heeyeon couldn’t repress the, “Aww,” that left her mouth and she squeezed Hyojin’s side.

Heeyeon could see Hyojin fighting back a grin. “I know you're a sucker for a sweet gesture.”

Heeyeon nodded and laid her head down on Hyojin’s chest before immediately popping back up again, “Wait, was that a confession song?” Hyojin looked a little ashamed. “And you didn’t tell me?” Heeyeon smacked Hyojin’s shoulder. “Ugh, we are so broken up.” Heeyeon forced herself to get up to go get the ice and turn off the light and when she turned back, she could still see Hyojin smiling at her, space next to her open for Heeyeon to lay down again. Hyojin only grumbled a little about the ice for her ankle, mollified when Heeyeon made it clear that shutting up meant making out before they fell asleep.

In the morning, Hyojin’s ankle wasn’t any more sore than the rest of her body, much to everyone's relief. Jaehyun still let them have the morning off and when Hyojin got her bath ready, she pulled Heeyeon into the bathroom with her. They chose to ignore all the messages of, _finally, for the love of god_ , on their phones from the other girls until the bath was over.

**Author's Note:**

> That place with the mermaid statue and dragon head is [a real place](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Yongduam+Rock+\(%EC%9A%A9%EB%91%90%EC%95%94%E9%BE%99%E5%A4%B4%E5%B2%A9\)/@33.5158099,126.5120106,3a,60y,333.33h,85.73t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snedTj2Dab4FKoikQNkT8Mg!2e0!3e2!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x3044bfd3cfaa7bb0!8m2!3d33.5161459!4d126.511881).


End file.
